SITA UK releases interactive UK recycling map

14. Oktober 2014

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Recycling in the UK (Source: SITA UK Ltd.)

Maidenhead, UK — National recycling and resource management company, SITA UK, has released an interactive digital map of local authority recycling data across the UK. The online digital tool allows users to click on individual local authorities to view a range of information about recycling services, materials collected, waste arising per capita and collection frequency for each authority – which was compiled from a number of different, largely public, data sourcesThe release of this interactive tool is in response to recommendations made by The Ur[bin] Issue report by Keep Britain Tidy, launched earlier this month.

Data on waste collection schemes and materials were provided by WRAP and the average recycling rate figures are those reported by the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) for 2013 and the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) for the 2012/13 financial year – which will be updated on the map for the 2013/14 calendar year once officially reported later this year. The waste arising statistics for Scotland were derived from the SEPA 2013 data.

The map has been designed, therefore, to provide residents with an easy-to-use interactive tool which will hopefully encourage more engagement with recycling among residents. The colour coding of the map aims to group local authorities relative to the national average recycling rate and the UK’s EU 2020 target of 50 per cent.

Based on the most recent officially-reported annual statistics, local authorities in England achieved an average recycling performance of around 44 per cent, while Wales achieved 52 per cent and Scotland achieved around 42 per cent. Basing the average national recycling rate in the middle of the scale, local authorities falling below 30 per cent have been coloured red, those between 30-40 per cent coloured amber, 40-50 per cent yellow, 50-60 per cent green and those achieving 60 per cent+ have been coloured dark green.

Chief Executive Officer of SITA UK, David Palmer-Jones said: “There is a good deal of publically available data for recycling and waste services at a local authority level, but we wanted to collate this information and present it in an easy-to-understand graphical format that everyone could use – not just those with enough interest to trawl through spreadsheets.“ And he added: „One of the findings from The Urbin Issue was that householders had little understanding of the national picture, or their own authority’s recycling performance relative to others – which contributed to them feeling disengaged and unmotivated to recycle. If we are going to improve recycling rates, our industry needs to engage the householders that play such a vital role in the process and providing quality, accessible information is the first step in that process.“